Adventures in writing and reading, with a splash of wanderlust

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You know what I love most about striper fishing? All the reading I get done!

In May, my husband Joe and I went back east to visit family in NY, CT and NJ. One of the main reasons for the timing of our vacation is the striper run. Yes, it’s a big deal, and it only lasts for a couple of weeks. During this past trip, we spent most of our time fishing on The Hudson, because that’s where they were biting.

For me, the beauty of surf fishing is that I can hang out in a camp chair and read. When you fish from the shore, you bait the hook, cast the line, put the rod in its holder, which is anchored in the sand. Then you sit back. And watch. And wait. When the tip of the rod snaps back and forth, you run and grab the rod, in hopes of a big striper bite. (While most of the Kusumoto clan is better about holding the rod and watching attentively, I toggle between watching for bites and reading!)

Despite my focus on the page rather than the line, I actually did catch one: a 28″ striper that I didn’t think I’d be able to reel in on my own. We thought it was a huge catch, until my sister in law (my “fish-tah” Vikki) showed me up with a 31″ (she always does that!) ( :

A week later, Joe brought in the big doozy – a 39″ striper – that now holds the Kusumoto family record.

I love fishing back east. Armed with Italian subs, chips (that eventually get all wormed up with everyone poking their dirty, bait-smeared hands in the bags!) and my mom’s homemade chocolate chip cookies, we spend hours by the water… fishing, waiting, relaxing and reading.

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If you love fishing for striped bass, here’s a must read that fisher-people love: On the Run: An Angler’s Journey Down the Striper Coast (David Dibenedetto.)

And while I’m on the topic, here’s a list of reads I polished off in May, all of which I’d recommend: